Author: Yann CICZORA

Charge Blinking Statistics of Semiconductor Nanocrystals Revealed by Carbon Nanotube Single Charge Sensors

Posted on by Yann CICZORA

Nano Lett., 2015, 15 (10), pp 6349–6356

We demonstrate the relation between the optical blinking of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) and their electrical charge blinking for which we provide the first experimental observation of power-law statistics. To show this, we harness the performance of CdSe/ZnS NCs coupled with carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs), which act as single charge-sensitive electrometers with submillisecond time resolution, at room temperature. A random telegraph signal (RTS) associated with the NC single-trap […]

Assessment of adhesion, invasion and cytotoxicity potential of oral Staphylococcus aureus strains

Posted on by Yann CICZORA

Microbial Pathogenesis Volume 86, September 2015, Pages 1–9

The oral cavity is regarded as a relevant site for Staphylococcus aureus colonization. However, characterization of virulence mechanisms of oral S. aureus remains to be uncovered. In this study, twenty one S. aureus strains isolated from the oral cavity of Tunisian patients were screened for adherence, invasion and cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. In addition, the presence of adhesins (icaA, icaD, can, fnbA and fnbB) and α-hemolysin (hla) genes in each strain was achieved by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

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Interplay between troponin T phosphorylation and O-N-acetylglucosaminylation in ischaemic heart failure

Posted on by Yann CICZORA

Cardiovasc Res. 2015 Jul 1;107(1):56-65

Previous studies have reported that decreased serine 208 phosphorylation of troponin T (TnTpSer208) is associated with ischaemic heart failure (HF), but the molecular mechanisms and functional consequences of these changes are unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize the balance between serine phosphorylation and O–N-acetylglucosaminylation (O-GlcNAcylation) of TnT in HF, its mechanisms, and the consequences of modulating these post-translational modifications.

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Quantifying bacterial adhesion on antifouling polymer brushes via single-cell force spectroscopy

Posted on by Yann CICZORA

Polym. Chem., 2015,6, 5740-5751

Bacterial adhesion poses serious problems in food safety and biomedical applications. Antifouling polymer brushes have been shown to be effective as surface modifications to prevent biofilm formation from pathogenic bacteria. In this work, the adhesion of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis on seven types of brushes is examined by single-cell force spectroscopy. The brushes, known to possess excellent resistance to protein adsorption,  […]